#1183 Ezekiel 38 Part 1 Gog of Magog

 

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.

7 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” 17 Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?

Judgment on Gog

18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. 19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ Ezekiel 38 NKJV

Ezekiel 38: 1-6

1-6 Set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog - So this "Gog" is from a land called Magog, and given that this is addressed to a Hebrew, who was also a Levite, so familiar with the books of Moses, this should, to that audience of Ezekiel and the elders, bring them back to Genesis 10. There, we find that Magog was a son of Japheth, who was a son of Noah. It was common for areas to be named after patriarchs, and even common for them to be honored above their rightful place as humans, through ancestor worship. One of the most common examples of land divided in such a way is Israel. Israel is the name God gave to Jacob, who was the patriarch for which the country was named. It is divided up into ancestral allotments based upon the tribal heads which were then names of Jacob's sons. Hence, we have Jesus, who was of the line of David, who was a son of Jesse, who came from the tribe of Judah, Judah was a son of Jacob, whose name was also Israel. 

1This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood. 2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.… Genesis 10: 1-3

“Unlike the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, with whom Judah had frequent contact, the peoples in the distant north were shrouded in mystery. The reports of these mysterious people groups that filtered down spoke of wild peoples, brutal and barbaric. This combination of mystery and brutality made Gog and his confederates perfect symbols of the archetypal enemy, rising against God and his people.” (Block)

ii. Feinberg wrote in summary of Ezekiel 38 and 39: “They tell, if interpreted literally, of a coming northern confederacy of nations about the Black and Caspian seas with Persia and North Africa, who will invade the promised land after Israel’s restoration to it.”

The derivation of the word is uncertain. It probably refers to the ruler of the people who live in Magog. Magog was identified by Josephus as the land of the Scythians, the region N and NE of the Black Sea and E of the Caspian Sea (now occupied by three members of the Commonwealth of Independent States: Russia, the Ukraine, and Kazakhstan). Rosh. The area of modern Iran. Meshech and Tubal. The area of modern Turkey. (Bold italics mine) - Charles Ryrie

"Gog" seems to be the name of the commander-in-chief of this confederation of nations which will invade Israel "in the latter days" (Ezekiel 38:16), sometime after Israel has been reestablished in its land--while still rejecting God and His Christ--as outlined in Ezekiel 37. The name "Gog" may be an accommodation to some such ethnic name as "Georgi." Magog is evidently Gog's country, associated also with the countries of Meshech and Tubal. All three countries were named after their founding fathers, each of whom was a son of Japheth (Genesis 10:2), and all three originally settled in what is now Asia Minor, north of Israel. - Henry Morris

The prince of Rosh - Now this is where some arguments begin, and many think this is the proper translation, that makes him, Gog, prince of a place called Rosh, and also places called Meshech and Tubal. Or, as others would translate it, Rosh being interpreted as chief, so "chief prince" of Meshech and Tubal, the latter being the places and the former part of his title. Throughout the years people have seen or thought to have seen a linguistic connection between Rosh, Rus, and ultimately Russia, with Meshech and Tubal being present day Moscow and Tobolsk. The linguistic similarities idea isn't enough for me to take a dogmatic stance on, and I am burned out on the presentations given by many dispensationalist, but I will try to point out what is interesting historically, and like the tumblers on a lock, hopefully more will fall into place as I slowly develop my eschatology. I like the quote below from Precept:

The reader will also note that I will quote frequently from Joel C. Rosenberg's writings, for I have found this Jewish Messianic believer to always take a very balanced, literalistic, albeit non-sensationalistic approach to the interpretation of Bible prophecies and how they relate to current world events. The danger of Bible prophecy is to read the newspapers and try to make those events fit the Biblical prophecies. The converse should be our goal - to become so familiar with the Bible's "print" that we are enabled by the Spirit to read the newspapers with godly wisdom and insight, taking care to avoid the temptation to fall into "eschatological dogmatism!" - Precept Austin

Prince of Rosh - While some interpreters have stated "Rosh" is Russia, this interpretation is problematic. (Speculation) While the NAS uses the word "Rosh", the ESV and RSV both translate Rosh as "Chief." Rosh is found almost 600 times in the OT and is most commonly translated “chief” or “head” (as in the expression for the Jewish New Year, Rosh ha-Shanah, or head of the year).  - Precept Austin

Put hooks into your jaws - Regardless of the motives of men's hearts, it is God Who draws out Gog; God is sovereign here, even though men see themselves at the helm of history. It is similar to the wording He used earlier with Pharaoh of Egypt. 

…3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’ 4But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales. 5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and will not be taken away or gathered for burial. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air.… Ezekiel 29: 3-5

All of them handling swords - There is a little difference between the armies, the far north army of Gog has a weapon of offense, whereas Persia, Ethiopia and Libya only seem to have defensive armor. It would seem that Gog is definitely the superior power in this alliance. This also reminds me of something that happened around the year I was born: In 1973 from a sermon by J Mac on the end times -

"You know, it’s amazing, in the last few days the whole attention of the world is focused upon the Mideast. Some exciting things have begun to happen with some very direct relationship to God’s plan for the world. Israel is at war with the Arabs. Egypt and Syria are battling on two fronts, and I understand Jordan is now in the battle. Russia, which for a little while seemed to be rather passive, has become active and in just the last couple of days has really unleashed a certain form of involvement by sending materiel to supply the forces of the Arabs and ships and airplanes as well carrying tremendous amount of arms to arm the Arabs." - J Mac from The Destruction of the Nations Part 4

Persia, Ethiopia and Libya are with them - Earlier text have Persia, which we know now as modern day Iran, Cush, which is Ethiopia, and Put, which modern day scholars have narrowed down to Libya. These countries holding more or less ground throughout the years, Ethiopia even ruling parts of Egypt at points in history. Russia has long held ties with Iran, and now in recent years an interesting alliance has formed with the most populous remaining communist, atheist culture, which is China. China's new Silk Road initiative has them coming across the north countries by rail and road, all the way from Beijing to Iran to Moscow and then Europe. They also have growing interest and investment at sea, with ports in Myanmar and one of the countries listed here, Ethiopia, which right now would not seem like much of a threat on it's own, but it's government leaders are happily selling to China, and as the Chinese like to say, they are building bridges, not walls. It's fascinating stuff, but as a Christian I know that God is in charge, and while none of these places have Israel's best interest at heart, they will all have a part to play in the last days. 

Gomer and all it's troops - I have seen some identify Gomer as Germany, but most today

Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north: Most regard Gomer as a people from Cappadocia, in modern Turkey. The house of Togarmah is often regarded as the Armenian people to the north of Israel. - Enduring Word

From Grace To You

The Webster’s Dictionary understands that languages of Europe and languages into India are all coming from the same source. And I can give you lots of evidence; I don’t want to beg the issue, one little illustration. The Greeks traced themselves back – they traced their heritage back to a Japetos, a form of Japheth. And you will read about him in the writings of Aristophanes. People in the east - in India, Persia – trace themselves back to a flood account with a man named Japeti as their father. Japeti – Japetos – Japheth. And so, go west, you find Japheth. Go east, you find Japheth.

Now, let’s look at the text itself. Verse 2 we meet Gomer. Information from historians Herodotus, Strabo, and Plutarch indicate that Gomer’s people settled north of the Black Sea, in an area called Cimmeria, or Crimea. You’ve heard the word Crimea, and that’s where they originally settled, according to ancient writers.

The sons of Japheth, called Gomer, went north in the Black Sea area and even beyond it. Later they expanded into Europe, settling in France, called Gauls; in Spain, called Galicia; in Britain, called Kelts or Celts; even in Wales, called Cymru. All of those are variations of the three consonants in Gomer. And there may be some connection to Germany as well, although the consonants are switched. Some connect the three consonants in linguistics with Cumberland Umbria, which is Ireland and so forth. But all of that is in Europe to the north and then migrating to the west.

Six other sons are mentioned. Magog is mentioned. Hard to identify. You find Magog in Ezekiel 38 as well. Magog is symbolic of the end time confederacy that comes to fight against the Messiah in the last days. But it’s hard to know where Magog is. Almost all interpreters of history would say it’s to the north. This is a people in the north.

It could refer to those who became known as Scythians who went to the north and a little bit east. Some associate them with Mongols and the Huns who went east as well. Others say they were the people of Gog, a familiar name around the Caspian and the Black Sea. Josephus identifies Magog as the place where the people of Gog lived around the Caspian Sea. That’s the region of southern Russia, the Ukraine.

And then there are a couple of other sons named Tubal and Meshech. We want to mention them because they were also people in the north. Pretty easy to trace these people. We have found Assyrian monuments. The Assyrians were the people to the north. Remember the Jews always feared the Assyrians coming down? The Assyrians were in the north.

And we have found some – when I say “we,” I mean those which study history – have found some monuments among the Assyrian ruins identifying a people called Mushki, or Mushku, which is a lot like Meshech, and another people called Tubali. Tubali. These later show up on the Moskva River and the city of Moscow, and the Tobol River and the city of Tobolsk. And several other cities in the Russian area have that derivative name. They are associated also, in Ezekiel 38, with the name Rosh, which is probably an early name that ends up as Russia in later days.

Now, in verse 3, we meet some of the sons of Gomer. As I said, not all of these sons of Japheth have their lines listed, but two of them do. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah. Ashkenaz went north to settle. He name is preserved in a place called Lake Ascanius. And the people of that area are called in as ancient writings as Homer the Askani. They later moved to Germany so that Jews identified their people – German Jews – as – have you ever heard this term? – Ashkenazi Jews. Some of you who are Jewish have heard that phrase and that title. So, the Ashkenaz family went north into the Lake Ascanius area, later moved to Germany, and still have that name identified with Jewish people in Germany.

Then there is Riphath – very hard to trace. Josephus says he was the father of the Paphlagonians, and we don’t know exactly how they got mixed into the races after that.

Togarmah – very interesting. Togarmah we know about. Direct ancestor of Armenians. We have a number of Armenian people in our church, and you probably have heard, in your Armenian background, the house of Targum. The house of Targum. It’s a familiar identification of Armenian descent. Terms like “Turkey,” “Turkistan,” “Targum” come from Togarmah, the ancestor of Armenians.

Now, it’s hard to be exact about this; these are migrating people – moving, mixing – but all agree they went north and west. And we find that words like these words, the GMR consonants – Megog, Meshech, Tubal, Ashkenaz, Rophath, Togarmah – appear in those regions, towns, cities, peoples, both ancient and modern, that still bear similarity to those names. - J Mac Genesis 10: 1-32